Former undercover deputy charged with selling meth

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Mitchell Wright appears in court on Aug. 21, 2013. The judge ruled his face not be shown by media cameras.

SEATTLE -- A former undercover detective with the King County Sheriff's Office was in federal court on Tuesday to face drug trafficking charges.

Bothell's Mitchell Wright is charged with two counts of distribution of methamphetamine and one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.

He was arrested Monday evening in Seattle following a three month investigation by the DEA, Shoreline Police, Seattle Police and the King County Sheriff's Office.

Wright worked for the sheriff's office from 2002 until July of last year, when he resigned after police caught his girlfriend using heroin in his car, according to investigators.

Officers then found more drugs, taken from the DEA, inside his police cruiser, prosecutors said.

In 2009, Wright was assigned to the DEA's Seattle office, where he was commissioned as a task force officer responsible for investigating violations of the Controlled Substances Act, according to the Department of Justice.

"I am very disappointed that a police officer with a promising career ended up on the other side of the law," Sheriff John Urquhart said in a Tuesday news release. "But at the same time I am very gratified all the other officers who became involved did the right thing, not only reporting the misconduct but thoroughly investigating it as well."

If convicted on the federal meth charges, Wright if facing a maximum of 40 years in prison. He's also awaiting trial on state charges stemming from his 2013 arrest.